Firefighters from as far away as Uniondale and Garden City responded with local engine companies on Wednesday afternoon after flames engulfed a building on Hempstead Avenue. Nassau County Police closed Hempstead Avenue between Roosevelt and McKinley for hours as the blaze, which began in an apartment atop a thrift store at 523 Hempstead Avenue, was extinguished without spreading to nearby stores, which include an insurance practice and a spa. The building is directly across from the West Hempstead Public Library.
A medical responder on the scene told The Echo that there were no injuries and that no one was in the apartment at the time of the fire. A dog on the premises was safely evacuated, he said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. About an hour after the fire was extinguished firefighters could be see venting the roof via a tower ladder. Buses and other vehicles were diverted down residential streets due to the closure of Hempstead Avenue between Roosevelt and McKinley.
